It's a ruling that has sparked instant backlash from fans on
social media and message boards, with the usual "NHL injustice/Wheel of
Discipline/a monkey on Percocet could make more rational decisions than Colin
Campbell" complaints. Only this time, they're sort of beside the point.

The hit, again, if you missed it:

Darren
Dreger of TSN saw it thusly: "Hit was late, but replay shows Doan hit Sexton's
hands and his stick hit him in the head." There was no injury. There was no
penalty. Under the
provisions of Rule 48, the NHL's new regulation for blindside hits, the
head being the 'principle point of contact' could even be debated if it's
Sexton making the contact on his own head.

"Doan delivered a late hit from the blind side to the head of an
unsuspecting opponent," NHL Executive Vice President of Hockey
Operations Colin Campbell said. "While it was fortunate that Sexton did
not suffer an injury, the message should be clear that this is the type
of hit that we want out of our game."

Again: beside the point. We said this morning that the
NHL was going to make a statement on this ruling, and that's what it's
done: Taking a team captain, a well-respected veteran and an all-star player, and taking a pick play in the
neutral zone that may have previously gone unnoticed, and turning them into an
October wakeup call for players on this new regulation and its consequences.

In comparison to concussions and slashes and boarding and
pantomiming fellatio and the other hundred (or so it would seem)
suspension-level events in the last several weeks in the NHL: Yes, 3 games for
what Doan did are severe and uncalled for. Taken on its own, and based on how the NHL usually deals with hits that don't result in severe injuries, it's overkill.

But if you're someone preaching about players' safety from
head injuries and slamming the NHL for this suspension, then you're trying to
have it both ways.

This is a statement to the players, as loud as any the
League has made this season: Even the seemingly benign blindside hits are on
the radar. The game has changed. Don't start screaming "protect the players and
their fragile brains!" and then start bitching when the NHL is attempting to
establish this rule as a deterrent.